Christian Lacroix on Absolutely Fabulous and 1990s Fashion

Absolutely Fabulous, the irreverent and fashion-mad British show now getting the movie treatment, debuted in 1992 and was largely embraced by the modish world. Kate Moss, Stella McCartney, Anita Pallenberg, and David Gandy are among the fashion types who joined the PR exec Edina “Eddy” Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and magazine editor Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) on their misadventures. (Moss plays a pivotal role in the new film.)

Given the main characters’ professions, it’s not surprising that there was a lot of designer name-dropping. But Christian Lacroix, who brought color, excess, humor, and the pouf to fashion, stood apart. Eddy i-d-o-l-i-z-e-d the Arlesian designer. “I like them if they’re Lacroix,” she once declared; she also made “Lacroix, sweety” her unforgettable chant. In fact, Lacroix became so important to the plot that he was cast in multiple episodes. Here, the designer, who’s currently engaged in theatrical projects, shares his Ab Fab memories with Vogue.com

If I remember correctly, you are a bit of an Anglophile, no?Yes, I am! Since the first time I was in London in the late ’60s as a student, I felt I was an Englishman in a previous life. Everything seemed so close to me, my tastes and dreams. Great Britain has been a kind of a fantasy in a way, perhaps because my generation (I was born in 1951) was nourished by Anglo-Saxon series, novels, movies, and fairy tales. As an adolescent I was in love with English eccentricity. My favorite book was Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray. Last, but not least, it was the beginning of Swinging London, with The Beatles, miniskirts, Carnaby Street, psychedelia, Antonioni’s Blow-Up movie, Beardsley, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie.

How did you first become aware of the Ab Fab show?In the 1990s, we didn’t have so many channels, you needed cable or special satellites for watching foreign TV. At that time, one of my assistants was from Central Saint Martins in London, and he saw Ab Fab on BBC or through connected friends, and he told me the following day: “Do you know you are endlessly mentioned in a very funny, exhilarating English series?” I watched the show and loved everything.

How did you feel to be singled out by the characters?They thought that perhaps I might be upset, or sad, or rude, forbidding them to use my name and work. A few people around me were shocked, and told me it was negative advertising. I didn’t think so. It was exactly my kind of humor, I did love them and the whole thing.

Why do you think they chose you?I think it happened just like that. They were improvising. I realized that when I was on set and part of some episodes, they were laughing at their own improvised gags. I couldn’t stop laughing either, and we had to redo it again and again, especially when Eddy suddenly kneeled and snaked on the floor grasping my ankle without warning me before shooting. They were inventing words and scenes, actions, each second. I think they thought the most outrageous eccentric exagéré part in my work suited perfectly the character.

I must say, that they later told me that my name was one day [used] on an episode, just like that, by chance, and they kept it as a repeated joke. Later, they bought clothes and accessories by themselves in our then Old Bond Street boutique, without asking for anything of the couture house. They were afraid of my reaction.

Did you provide costumes for the characters?Never. I just sent some personal gifts.

Can you share your memories of the episode you appeared on?We became friends. They were a bit shy [and] wonderful. At the end of the episode we were supposed to work on Saffron’s wedding dress, [but] we decided that it would not work, that instead I’d become upset with her mother. As they encouraged me, I started improvising myself and very angrily, I told her: “Go to Gucci.” They didn’t keep the phrase, but it was the beginning of our pretended fâcherie [quarrel] in the series. Some months later we filmed in Paris another episode at Buddha-Bar where we were supposed to meet by chance, and I pretended I did not recognize her.

How would you describe Eddy and Patsy’s aesthetic, style?Caricatural of course, seen through their fancy extreme characters. But, as with any good caricature, it’s faithful to the period.

What would you like to see them wearing today?They were totally perfect at that time. Today it might be Gucci or Moschino.